Birth and Death and Rebirth
by Toni
Summary: Part of the ending of Episode III


Disclaimer: All characters, etc. belong to George Lucas. I'm just lucky enough to be able to play with his toys.

Warning: This may include Episode III spoilers (at least it partially follows what Pablo, JW Titus, etc. claim). Consider yourself warned as this is everyone's last chance to see a Star Wars movie without knowing exactly what is going to happen.  I'm a self-confessed spoiler fan. I already know Ep 3. Sad, huh!

…………………………………

The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man.

from _Dune_ by Frank Herbert (great quote. I plan on reading Dune very soon)

As Obi-Wan and Padme got out of the shuttle, the first thing they noticed was that the base looked deserted, though it was perfectly standing and looked recently used. Neither particularly wanted to voice what they thought had happened. Anakin suddenly appeared at the entrance to the base and spat out "What are you doing here?"

"Coming after you", answered Padme, to the man who used to be her husband.

"I'm doing my job. I don't need anyone coming after me".

"This isn't like you. You're not yourself!" The look in Padme's eyes were heartbreaking.

By this point, Obi-Wan had managed to get to the entrance of the base. The bodies inside sickened him.

"They're the enemy", Anakin spoke behind him.

"Who's the true enemy? These mindless Separatists or Palpatine?" (Obi-Wan reasoned.

"Palpatine wants to make the Republic a safer place."

"The Republic doesn't exist anymore, thanks to him" Padme shouted.

Anakin spun around to face her, but she was looking inside the base for herself.

"He ordered you to do this?" Padme asked, the shock evident in the way she became completely still.

"Yes".

"Palpatine has no right to do that."

Anakin looked more intense than she had ever seen him as he chose his next words carefully.

"That's close to treason"

"It's loyalty to how a democracy is supposed to be run".Padme took a breath.

"And if you continue to be loyal to that monster, you're never going to see me again. I can't be with you anymore, Anakin. You're never going to see this baby."

Before anyone realized what was happening, Anakin had begun to choke her using the Force. As her hands reached for her throat she lost her balance, she fell, and her head hit against the jutted rocks below.

…………………………………

When Padme regained consciousness, she was in her own cruiser, which she could tell had left Mustafar. Her head was throbbing, so she reached up to touch her scalp. When she pulled back, there was blood on her fingers. No one was around, which momentarily panicked her. Then she heard a familiarly accented voice.

"Let's rendezvous at Polis Massa. It's the closest inhabited planet to here." Obi-Wan said into the intercom.

"Absolutely", came the response from the Organa's Corvette, the _Tantive IV_.

"And Bail?"

"Yes?"

"Please hurry."

For a moment, only static came from the intercom. Then Bail replied "We're on our way", apprehension evident in his voice.

_What happened to Anakin_? The panic came again, as it had every so often since the Battle of Coruscant. And as had happened then, she lost consciouness.

Shortly afterward, the cruiser landed on the platform outside the hospital on Polis Massa. It was a large, sterile white building crowded with tall, thin green aliens. No sooner had Obi-Wan brought Padme out of the shuttle and taken her into the hospital then the aliens took her inside the operating room.

It was only a few minutes before the _Tantive IV_ came into Polis Massa's atmosphere. A worried-looking Bail stepped out.

"You sounded like hell on the intercom, General."

"I think I've just been through it. But I'm concerned about Senator Amidala now. She's hurt."

Bail made sure that his eyes were looking straight into Obi-Wan's. "What happened to you two?" he questioned.

"Anakin choked Senator Amidala and she fell. Anakin and I fought and he fell into the pit. I'm not reliving anything more right now."

One of the medic droids came out. Its limbs flailed, as though trying to show sympathy.

"The woman may be too hurt to survive. The medic wants to operate to save the child."

Insanely furious that his own mentor would treat him as a nameless enemy, Anakin could do nothing as the fires, internal and external, raged. All coherent thoughts stopped. All the lies, half truths and broken promises suddenly disappeared into a sea of pain. Perhaps it was better this way; let the fires burn and eat away at him and take away the ones that had always been in his heart. There was no use trying to break free. This was the end. What a noble cause it had seemed at the time; to be free. But when had _that_ happened? Never. Maybe that had been the truth after all – he was never going to be free – and of course he hadn't kept his promise.

_As he lay perfectly still in her lap, Anakin could sense that something was wrong._

"_What is it, angel?" he asked, sitting up to face her._

"_Can we really ever truly be together? I know you're dedicated to the Jedi Order; you've wanted to be one since you were nine. I wouldn't want to be the reason you left the Order, but would the Council ever agree to us being married?" she replied. _

"_I don't care what they say, I love you. I've always been in love with you, and I always will, no matter what happens. I know we're destined to be together, that's enough for them," Anakin said, passionately. _

Suddenly, something came out of the dark and grabbed him ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meanwhile, Padme, now officially a mother, had regained consciousness and had been moved to the sterile recovery room. The baby that had been removed from her womb was placed in her waiting arms. Padme gave a small smile for the first time in months as she looked in to her new daughter's brown eyes.

"A perfect little girl," Padme whispered before motioning Bail Organa over. She didn't speak for a moment, then looked up to meet Bail's eyes. "Would you raise her," she weakly asked.

Bail was so shocked he didn't know what to say. Padme continued, "I know I don't have much time left, and I'm not afraid to die. But my daughter needs a family."

"Of course", he replied. "She'll be my princess from now on. What's her name?"

Pamde turned her back to her daughter and replied "I always wanted to name a girl Leia."

At that moment, a medical droid came in the room. "Could I examine the patient?" a mechanical voice asked Bail.

"Of course", Bail said, and he left.

As the examination began, Padme suddenly flinched.. "I felt a kick!" she exclaimed with a shocked look on her face.

Upon hearing this, the droid used its probe to check her abdomen. It replied, "Yes, there is another child."

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Anakin regained consciousness as well and was hit with a blast of terror he had never experienced before. He was certain he was trapped in a black, hot tomb. Worse, he now remembered what he had done to his angel. How was she and their son?

After what felt like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes, Anakin heard someone enter the room. He tried to move, but found that he couldn't.

"Good. I've managed to save you, my apprentice."

Darth Vader recognized that voice. "Master", he replied but suddenly stopped, shocked. That wasn't his voice. It was deep, booming, robotic. Still, he had to ask, had to know for sure. "Master, where is Padme?"

Palpatine's voice answered in what Vader suspected was false sympathy. "I'm sorry, Vader. She's dead".

At that, Darth Vader could not, would not, restrain himself any longer. He found that he could get up if he used enough effort and finally realized where he was – some sort of sterile medical center. Using the Force, he threw two of the droids against the wall and watched them crumble to the floor. He then proceeded to get off the table, toss it over, and then looked around to see what would be good to take away his pain, frustration and quickly boiling temper at the realization of what he was capable of. The only woman he had ever truly loved and their son dead because of him.

………………………………………………………………………………….

If anything, after the second operation during the same day, Padme looked even weaker then before. Obi-Wan had walked in, and Padme met his eyes with a pained look.

"Anakin told me he saw a son with his coloring." Padme whispered. Her emphasis on _saw_ left no doubt that she was talking about prescience.

"That would be your son", replied Obi-Wan, somehow not surprised about anything he learned Anakin anymore.

"We were going to name him Luke. It means "light" in ancient Naboo." Padme continued.

"Then that'll be his name." Obi-Wan tried to convey as much assurance as he could.

"Could you take him to his aunt and uncle on Tatooine? Anakin…" Obi-Wan tried not to wince.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened." Padme told him, suddenly sounding stronger than before.

Obi-Wan doubted that he could ever follow that instruction, but decided not to say that in front of Anakin's dying wife.

Padme continued, "Back when Anakin and I went to rescue Anakin's mother on Tatooine, we met his stepbrother. He and his wife are good people who live where the Empire won't find him."

"Of course I'll take Luke to his aunt and uncle", Obi-Wan replied.

Padme smiled. "There is still good in him", she whispered, and then her head tilted back and her closed. Obi-Wan could feel that they wouldn't open again.

As Obi-Wan approached the farmhouse in the middle of the desert, he wondered how the baby in his arms would ever become a Jedi. With almost all of them having had become one with the Force, Darth Sidious would go unhindered and the Empire would remain. Any hope of Anakin being the Chosen One now seemed gone. Now all that was left was Anakin's son.

His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the owners of the farmhouse. The man, who Obi-Wan assumed was Owen Lars, had the gruff look not uncommon in men who had spent their lives in a rural area. He smiled warily at the visitor.

After a second, Obi-Wan decided to explain what he was doing at the Lars' farm.

"I'm sorry to surprise you like this, but I've come with your nephew – Anakin's son". Obi-Wan started to unwrap Luke's blanket.

Owen grumbled, "He should have stayed here where at least he'd be safe."

At this point, the young blonde next to Own spoke up. "Can I hold him?" she asked timdily.

"Of course", Obi-Wan replied, and handed the baby to her.

Beru stroked the baby's cheek and smiled. At that, Obi-Wan felt confident that the couple would make good guardians. Padme had been right.

Beru turned to her husband. "Owen, we're the only family he has left."

Owen turned to Obi-Wan. "We'll raise him, but I have to protect my family and I know the Empire wants all the Jedi dead."

Obi-Wan decided not to express all that last comment had welled up inside him. Instead, he answered, "I'll stay away, but I'm sure destiny still has plans for Luke."

And with that, Obi-Wan turned and walked into the sunset.


End file.
